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Sacrificing

I am the kind of guy who is big on hard work. I work seven days a week for my family to have a better life. I enjoy it. I go to bed every night proud of what I accomplished that day. However, it’s not all fun. Working hard is not always fun. It takes a mind set. I have aches and pains from years of playing soccer. I have broken or torn ligaments in all my fingers, left knee, left shoulder, hurt my back, etc. I messed my knee up again in the military. I have to wake up and tell myself everyday that the only easy day was yesterday. I have to sacrifice.

The same is true for the goalkeeper. I didn’t go the places that soccer took me and still taking me because I sat around and played video games or hung out with friends or was just plain lazy. NO, I MADE SACRIFICES!!! I didn’t date during my seasons. I didn’t hang out with friends and play video games. I didn’t hang out with friends that tried to get me to do things that weren’t good for me. I didn’t do anything that might take away my goals.

What I did do is study the game, my position and the positions of everyone else. I surrounded myself with friends who worked hard at their sport. I set goals. I worked everyday; whether with teammates or by myself. I didn’t need someone to motivate me. I loved the game and that was my motivation. I sacrificed my time for the chance of one day attaining the goals and dreams I set before me. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” You have to have vision (dreams, goals) or you will go nowhere.

So, what are you willing to sacrifice? What’s important to you? You cannot come to me and train once or twice a week and expect to get better. You are responsible for you getting better. It takes 1,000 repetitions for something to become muscle memory. Are you catching properly? If not, go bounce the ball and work on your hand placement. Is your collapse dive, flawless? If not, go out to your yard, park or wherever and work on it. My point is get off the phone, television, video games and spend some time getting better at what you want to be. If it’s becoming a pro goalkeeper…then you better be willing to train daily for hours. Sacrifice for what you want and when you get it…work harder to keep it!!!